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Cyclocross news & racing round-up for November 19, 2005Edited by Steve Medcroft Welcome to our regular round-up of what's happening in cyclocross. Feel free to send feedback, news and gossip to mtb@cyclingnews.com Horner set to race U.S. Gran Prix finaleWith East Coast weather getting more ‘cross like with each passing day - think rain, cold, and wind - racers in the coming weekend's finals of the 2005 Crank Brothers U.S. Gran Prix of Cyclocross will revel in the sun bathed tradition of West Coast cyclocross in San Francisco's Bay Area. Saturday's Surf City Cyclocross, at the Watsonville Fairgrounds outside Santa Cruz , and Sunday's Clark Natwick Grand Prix, in San Francisco 's Golden Gate Park , will close out the second edition of North America 's only coast-to-coast national cyclocross series. Top U.S. pro road racer Chris Horner (Saunier Duval-Prodir) is scheduled to make his major ‘cross debut in Santa Cruz Elite Men's race, hitting the challenging course to see if his legs and skills are up to those of U.S. Gran Prix strongmen Tim Johnson (Cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau), Mark McCormack (Team Clif Bar) and Barry Wicks (Kona). On the women's side, the pink and purple armada of Northern California 's own Velo Bella squad, six-women strong, will try to use the homecourse advantage to unseat Lyne Bessette (Cyclocrossworld.com-Louis Garneau), winner of the opening four rounds of the U.S. Gran Prix. The Santa Cruz Surf City Cyclocross Series started 30 years ago, with the Watsonville Fairgrounds as one of the standard bearers for the region's “jungle ‘cross” tradition. But 2005 and the arrival of the U.S. Gran Prix to Watsonville marks the first UCI Cat 1 race in the series' history. No Santa Cruz ‘cross race would be complete without a theme and this year's falls into the surf lifestyle Surf/Tiki realm. A Kiddie Kross 12-and-under race will also highlight the day on a purpose built mini ‘cross course for the next generation of ‘cross champions. Inspired by the energy and trailblazing of NorCal's own godfather of cyclocross, Sunday's Clark Natwick Grand Prix, will close out the 2005 U.S. Gran Prix on the legendary Polo Grounds of San Francisco's world renowned Golden Gate Park . The fast, technical course promises racing that remains faithful to the tradition of Clark Natwick's legacy in the sport: American riders daring to take cyclocross seriously. With U.S. Gran Prix Series leader Ryan Trebon (Kona) missing the final weekend due to his European racing schedule, the final day in San Francisco could see any one of several Elite Men pulling on the overall champion's white jersey. Tacoma winner, McCormack, and Gloucester winner, Johnson, lead the list of candidates for the U.S. Gran prix title coming out of Golden Gate Park . Melodie Metzger interview : Stepping it up a notchMelodie Metzger isn't the first name that springs to the lips of 'Cross followers if they're asked to name prominent riders; but with plenty of ability and perspective, this PhD student from the Bay area has made quick work of coming up the ranks as the future of 'cross racing in the US. With teammate and best friend Barb Howe riding with her on and off the road, Metzger is having fun and beginning to take some strong results. Cyclingnews' Les Clarke spoke with the lovely Miss M before this weekend's USGP of Cyclocross finals.
This season has been extremely busy for Melodie Metzger - as well as racing the US Gran Prix of Cyclocross series she's been featuring in NorCal 'Cross races and performing well, challenging for wins in only her second year of racing. Riding for the Velo Bella team, Metzger's been able to beat experienced campaigners such as teammate Sarah Kerlin, with eighth place at the Rad Racing GP of Cyclocross in Tacoma, Oregon, her best result so far. She's also completing her PhD in biotechnology, and has just finished a session dissecting bits of bodies when we speak. Metzger believes that she's just one of a number of new riders out there making a mark in US 'Cross circles, saying, "There are some new faces out there. Barb [Howe, Metzger's Velo Bella teammate] has been doing really well, and she's had the opportunity to get herself some second and third places, plus there are some girls like myself who've been getting some top ten places." Heading into this weekend's USGP of 'Cross final, does Metzger think the Lyne Bessette juggernaut can be beaten? "Oh gosh...I think in order for someone to beat Lyne Bessette, it has to be this gnarly, technical course where you have to get off your bike like 600 times; I think she's super strong, but I feel that she's not as good a technical rider. The more technical the course is, the less of a gap she has to the number two rider, whoever that may be." Read the entire Melodie Metzger interview here. Nys continues World Cup run
Can anyone stop Rabobank's Sven Nys? That's the question his competition is asking after the Belgian cyclo-cross ace took his sixth consecutive World Cup victory in Pijnacker on Sunday. Nys made it three-for-three in this season's series by defeating Richard Groenendaal Rabobank) and Gerben De Knegt (AA drink-Bejan), who were the only riders to stay with Nys. Nys took the lead after a quarter of the race, with Groenendaal and De Knegt chasing hard a short distance behind. From the trailing pack, Sven Vanthourenhout (Rabobank) attempted to bridge the gap, but his efforts came to nothing and he concentrated on hanging on to fourth place as the rest of the field disappeared. Groenendaal and Nys worked together to build a lead with De Knegt hanging on. Nys said afterwards that he had tried to let De Knegt through to take a turn on the front, but the Dutchman was content to settle for third. "Apparently that was the highest place feasible for him," said Nys. Behind the lead trio the battle was on for fourth. Enrico Franzoi (Lampre - Caffita) looked strong but faded toward the finish as Vanthourenhout proved the fastest of the chasers. For results and photos from UCI Cyclocross World Cup #3, click here. Kona Bicycle Company joins forces with Velo BellaThe Kona Bicycle Company has announced a new two-year partnership with team it terms "the fabulous women of Velo Bella" - the California-based collective of professional bicycle racing teams and clubs. The new Team Velo Bella-Kona partnership will encompass Velo Bella's professional road racing team, professional mountain bike racing team and elite level cyclo-cross team. Kona rider Wendy Simms will be joining Team Velo Bella-Kona for the 2006 and 2007 seasons; Kona team manager Mark Peterson said that, like every solid relationship, Velo Bella-Kona was destiny. "This relationship is a natural. The Velo Bella culture is a lot like Kona in that it's all about bringing fun to the sport. Kona is fun and Velo Bella is fun so we're in for a lot of it." said Peterson. "We're proud to call Velo Bella partners and ambassadors and look forward to supporting their mission in any way possible." Team Velo Bella-Kona will ride a variety of Kona bikes, including new road rigs King Zing and Zing Supreme, King Supreme and Kula Supreme mountain bikes, and Team Jake cyclo-cross bikes. Additionally, Velo Bellas' more than 150 club members will get special Kona deals through Kona's authorized dealer network and grassroots racing programme. 'Cross Crusade hosts final 2005 event this weekendThe River City Bicycle 'Cross Crusade, the largest participatory cyclocross series in the world, hosts its final event of the 2005 season this Sunday, November 20, at the Estacada Timber Park. More than 500 riders will take part in the Round 6 district championship, with competition starting at 9am and continuing all day until the women's Category A race at 1:10pm and men's Category A race at 2pm. "The District Championship will be a hotly contested conclusion to an incredibly successful Cross Crusade," said race director Brad Ross. "Interest in the sport of cyclocross and the Crusade continues to grow. Records were set for participation, particularly at the Crusade's prestige event, the Cannondale Stumptown Cyclocross Classic at Alpenrose, which drew 760 racers. Entries for the other Crusade races have topped 550." The series, sanctioned by the Oregon Bicycle Racing Association, will pay out more than $20,000 in prize money plus merchandise. See www.crosscrusade.com for more race details. Global 'cross racing round-up
Jonathon Page diary: Belgian pressure cookerDue to a series of technological downfalls on top of buying a house here in Belgium, I haven't been able to write a diary until now...I'll try to catch you all up as briefly as I can and as much as I remember from the last month. I'll start with the house. As of Thursday, we are first-time house owners, which I suppose is confusing and requires many steps in America, and now we are in a foreign country. We spent weeks driving here and there to sign bank papers, house papers, foreigner documents and who knows what else. Then, our computer broke, our cell phones both quit working with our sim cards here, our camera broke (which doesn't seem like a big deal until you consider that all of our family lives in America and they want to see pictures of Emma and they want to see them NOW!!) and our clutch cable broke in our van on the way to a race (can't find em? Grind em!). Plus I had a lot of bike work to do all by myself. So we were trying to figure all of that out on top of the daily life tasks. It has been a little overwhelming, but we are still smiling. This brings me to the next section of this diary. My racing. I received lots of emails (which I would receive by calling someone and having them read them to me or trying to use the library computer with the Euro keyboard - arrgh) and phone calls of "what HAPPENED to you for two weeks?". The answer: stress + training + travel + racing = riding like crap! You can understand that, right? Now I am finally back on track. The phones work. We have a new computer and camera. The clutch is smooth. The number of races per week and the distance to travel between them has lessened. The house papers are signed and we only have to move in now. And perhaps the biggest stress reducer has been that I now have help with the bikes. A good friend of mine is now helping with all of my mechanic work so the amount of time I spend in the garage has been significantly reduced. Read the entire Jonathan Page diary here.
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